Ode to a coffee urn: common grounds.(Working)

When did it become all about coffee?

Just last month, this column featured a makeshift Starbucks set up by U.S. troops in Iraq and what a boon this little piece of home has been to soldiers' morale. In the September 2002 column, we tallied how much it costs a year if you order a latte five days a week on your way to work every week (deducting vacation time). The total: $921.20; that's not counting the weekend frap and was before a price increase. I've even heard a financial planner on TV calculate how much more money people can have for retirement if they just give up their designer cup of java every day. The amount saved with compounded interest is substantial. And, yet, the …